MIXED EMOTIONS FOR MARTIN

Martin Jol had mixed emotions after we shared six goals in Sunday's thriller against Middlesbrough.

Martin Jol had mixed emotions after we shared six goals in Sunday's thriller against Middlesbrough.

Robbie Keane gave us the lead at the Riverside Stadium but we were 2-1 down by the time Jermaine Jenas curled home a superb free-kick to level in the second half.

In a rollercoaster second half, it didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t take long for Franck Queuedrue to head the home side back into the lead but Mido was there to nod home Michael CarrickÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s corner to secure a point seven minutes from time.

It was a great game,Ã¢â‚¬Â reflected Martin. Ã¢â‚¬Å“There were maybe five goals out of nothing and certainly in the first half they had two efforts on goal and scored twice and we had one and scored.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s always difficult when you go behind but we managed to come back twice and we could have nicked it right at the end when Jermain Defoe had the one-against-one chance.

This is the sixth time this season weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve come back in games and we have great team spirit, physical strength and character but still itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s disappointing to concede three goals

Ã¢â‚¬Å“On the other hand, if you can score three and in the future four or five if we are cleverer, then we can go and win these sort of games.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Martin was pleased to see Jermaine on the scoresheet again - since he called for more goals from midfield, Martin has seen JJ net three times and both Edgar Davids and Michael Carrick bag their first goals for the Club.

He added: Ã¢â‚¬Å“Jermaine also scored against Manchester United and Everton and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s exactly what we want - goals from midfield as well as the strikers.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Meanwhile, Paul Robinson apologised to the linesman after reacting angrily to his decision to award MiddlesbroughÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s third goal when Franck QueuedrueÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s header crashed off the underside of the crossbar. Robbo was booked for his protests at the time but replays showed the ball had just crept over the goal line.